A survey has revealed that the younger generation, called Gen Z, consider faith to be a very important thing to hold on to during the COVID-19 pandemic more than any other age group in America.
According to the Religious Freedom Index report by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, today's younger generation known as Gen Z feel that faith helped them go through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Per the survey, 74 percent of Gen Z respondents indicated that faith was "at least somewhat important" during the pandemic. This is considerably higher than the 62 percent average for all respondents in the survey.
51 percent of Gen Z respondents also considered faith as "very important" during the pandemic. This is also significantly higher than the 39 percent average for all respondents who had the same response during the survey.
Other generations
Respondents from other age groups generally consider faith as "somewhat important" to them during the pandemic.
64 percent of respondents in the Silent Generation, made up of those born before World War II ended, said faith is at least "somewhat important" during the pandemic. This is followed by 62 percent of both the Baby Boomers and Millennials. Gen X, comprised of those born after the Baby Boomers but before Millennials, trailed last with 56 percent.
The trend changes for those who consider faith as "very important" during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Silent Generation follows closely behind Gen Z at 49 vs. 51 percent. It is then followed by Baby Boomers (43 percent), Gen X (36 percent), and Millennials last with 31 percent.
The last statistic there indicates that while many millennials see faith as an important thing for them, not many consider it to be a very important thing that can help them weather the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Interesting Findings
Becket's survey looked into several issues concerning Americans' view on religious freedom and faith, and how it relates with regards to various things, but especially in the case of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic.
Generally, many Americans consider faith and people of faith to be part of the solution to the problems that the 2019 novel coronavirus brought to the US since it went out of China. Faith helped many citizens face the challenges the pandemic presented.
According to the Index, while it may seem that religion or faith has little to offer in the way of a solution to the current pandemic, and that while most countries look to science and government to find a cure for the coronavirus, many Americans still consider religion and people of faith to be part of the solution to the problems the US is currently facing.
This year, 62 percent of respondents consider religion and people of faith to be part of the overall solution to the issues affecting the US. This shows a three-percent jump from last year's 59. What's even more interesting here is that 31 percent of all respondents say they believe people of faith are "definitely" part of the solution - a 7-percent increase from last year's 24.
Becket states that "Perhaps Americans see people of faith and religion as part of the solution in part because religion helps Americans as individuals navigate the personal challenges of the pandemic." The statistics above, categorized per age group, simply show that.
